


Bags

by Canadiantardis



Series: Cana's Bad Things Happen Bingo [5]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Closeted Character, Gen, Getting kicked out of home, Homophobic family, I think? Maybe? Technically?, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Religion mention, One Shot, Queer Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2020-04-06
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:07:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23500552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Canadiantardis/pseuds/Canadiantardis
Summary: All because he came out as bisexual.
Relationships: Hunk & Lance (Voltron), Lance & Lance's Family (Voltron), Lance & Veronica (Voltron)
Series: Cana's Bad Things Happen Bingo [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1674190
Comments: 6
Kudos: 37





	Bags

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ashkazora](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashkazora/gifts).



> I blame Ashka for this prompt: Disowned by Family with Lance. It took a while for me to think of a reason for the disownment but when I did I was already ready to cry  
> Enjoy~

Lance knew his family was old-fashioned, always knew this fact. Very Catholic. They attended Mass every time, held high family values, and held their tongue around anything political. They’ve seen what it does to families, and had decided long before Lance was born to not mention anything political at the table.

He knew all this, yet it still hurt to see the complete 180 his family spun from loving to glaring at him like the devil possessed him and there was no way to get it out. All because he came out as bisexual.

The room he shared with Luis was unoccupied, and had been since he came out a couple days ago. Any room he went in, the occupants would walk out. His grandmother wouldn’t even look him in the eyes anymore.

That was what hurt the most. His abuelita had always been the kindest to him, doting on him since he had been born, and now she couldn’t stand to be in the same room as him. He’d see her momentarily forget, her eyes sparking with kindness before she seemed to remember what he was and excuse herself from the room, often leaving through the complete other door so they would not bump into one another.

So he was packing. He knew they were going to make him regardless, the glares and pointed remarks and exclusion made that pretty obvious. They were just waiting for him to initiate so they didn’t have to feel responsible.

It was mid-day when he was almost finished packing up all his clothes into his suitcases and garbage bags, when he heard the soft squeak of the floorboards just at the doorway of the room. He turned to see Veronica leaning against the doorframe, a pitying expression directed at him.

“I warned you.” She said softly, walking into the room, and started to help him pack up his posters. “Why do you think I haven’t told them?”

“Oh yeah, rub it in my face some more, why don’tcha?” Lance snapped, but winced immediately after. “Wait, no, I didn’t mean that.”

Veronica sighed, rolling up his aviator poster and handing it to him. “No, you have every right to be mad. At me, at the rest of us. This isn’t fair.”

“I just… this is the 21st century, V. They’ve never made a big deal out of this before!”

“That’s because they don’t talk about it. They think everyone agrees with them because we’re family.” She rolled another poster up, and sighed again, dropping her head. “I should have come out first. Should’ve protected you. I knew they were going to react like this, and I knew you were going to do something.”

“Not your fault…” Lance mumbled, taking the poster and putting it in the tube along with the others. “Please don’t come out just because I’m getting kicked out.”

“I should though! You’re two years away from graduating high school and Mami and Papi are practically disowning you. Do you even have a place to stay?” Veronica stopped rolling the third and final poster that had been on the wall, holding it tightly in her grip. “How could they do this to you?”

“Veronica, stop.” Lance said sternly, feeling the familiar burn of tears. “Just. Stop.”

“No. Do you have a safe place to go to, Lance?” She demanded, dropping the poster to stomp up to Lance’s personal space.

“Yes, I have a friend’s place I’m going to when I’m finished packing.” Lance answered, not brave enough to look her in the eyes. “Now drop it. I’ll be fine.”

“No, you won’t.” Her voice cracked, and Lance looked at her. Unlike him, she didn’t seem to think it was important not to cry, and had tears build up in her eyes before they slipped down. “God, I am a horrible sister. Can’t even keep my baby brother safe.”

Just like that, the dam broke in Lance. He dropped the poster tube and wrapped his arms around Veronica, squeezing her like if he didn’t, she would disappear forever, sobbing into her chest. He felt her arms squeeze around him, a cheek against the top of his head and something wet drop into his hair.

_“Lo siento.”_ Veronica whispered into his hair. He felt her lips move more than hear her speak. _“Te quiero.”_

Lance hid in his sister’s embrace, soaking up as much physical comfort as he possibly could after getting nothing since he opened his big mouth. He hadn’t realized he missed the simple touches his family gave until he was shunned and given nothing but the cold shoulder from everyone except his only other family member that had helped him even understand bisexuality, and even she had to be distant to not face the same consequences.

They held each other for a solid ten minutes, no longer saying anything, both afraid to let go. Who knew when they would be able to hold each other again? To comfort one another, two queer kids in a super religious, homophobic family?

Lance took a deep, shaky breath, and pulled away from Veronica, wiping his eyes even as more tears fell right after. He smiled as gratefully as he could, but felt it was still more of a grimace. “Thank you. _Te quiero.”_

Veronica’s arms lingered around him for a second longer before she let him go and went to pick up the poster she had dropped. She nodded, her expression blank. It would have been difficult to tell what she was feeling if she hadn’t had the tear stains and the red, puffy eyes.

The two were silent as they packed the rest of Lance’s belongings. His video games, school books he had brought home over the March Break, electronics - Lance wasn’t sure if his parents would continue to pay for his phone plan, or if there was a deadline before they would stop - and his wallet with what little money he kept and the cards he had - library cards, school ID, and his first Debit card he only recently got, along with gift cards for various places - all carefully put into his backpack along with his toiletries. His console was put into one of the suitcases, surrounded and protected by clothes, and the second suitcase already full to the brim of the rest of his clothes. Anything else he needed to take with him, he had a large garbage bag to hold them in, which held the poster tube, reading novels, and two of his pillows. He would have taken all of them, but he didn’t know if his family would be okay with that. He also rolled up his blanket and stuffed it into the bag, and suddenly, his side of the shared room was bare, painfully bare.

Lance and Veronica didn’t say a word when they finished, looking around the room and how empty it looked. Lance wondered what they’d do to his side of the room. Would they get rid of his dresser? His bed? What if he had forgotten something that held sentimental value? Would they throw it away or keep it? The questions swirled and each one stabbed ice through his heart, the next more painful than the last.

“How are you moving all this to your friend’s place?” Veronica broke the silence, her tone forcibly neutral.

“I’m gunna call him to pick me up.” He answered, taking out his phone and speed-dialing his best friend’s number.

The phone rang once before Hunk was already speaking. “We’re on our way, man. You finished packing?”

“Yeah, uh yeah.” He cleared his throat. “I’m gunna wait on the porch for you.”

“Okay. See you in a bit, Lance.”

“I’ll help you bring this stuff down.” Veronica offered once he hung up. “I’ll take the suitcases, you take the bags.”

“Wh-no, what if Mami or Papi or someone sees you help me?” Lance rushed forward to grab the suitcase handles.

Veronica laughed, a hard, wet sound as tears pooled her eyes again. “I don’t care. They’re sending their youngest child out on the streets for being who he is. They probably don’t even care if you had a friend to take you in.” She yanked the suitcases away from him and began to roll them out of his room. “I can’t change the past, but I sure as hell can show them they’re being horrible.”

Lance couldn’t stop her from leaving the room with his bags, and he quickly hiked his backpack over his shoulders and took hold of the garbage bag, shuffling out of his room.

Along the walls down the stairs were the family photos, and they hurt to see. Him, happy and naive, smiling brightly with his siblings, with his family. All his school photos, from elementary school to his freshman year of high school - they would probably be getting his sophomore photos in a couple weeks, before the yearbooks are distributed - were there, along with Luis’, Veronica’s, Rachel’s, and Marco’s. Lance wondered if they would get rid of all the photos of just him, or if they would keep them up in the vain hope of pretending he wasn’t bisexual. He wasn’t sure which option hurt more.

No one was around the front door, nor outside on the porch beside Veronica. He heard the television in the living room, some telenovela on from what he could hear. Marco, Luis, and their father were at work, he knew, so it wasn’t the whole house ignoring his leaving. Still, it hurt.

He glanced at the entranceway to the living room to see his mother staring at him, but the moment their eyes caught, she looked away. It had been barely a minute, but it was enough to shove another slice of ice into his heart.

He continued his way out of the house, spotting Veronica sitting on the swinging porch seat, the suitcases by the couple steps that led to the path from the driveway. She had a foot tucked under her, but the other was gently rocking her. Back and forth and back and forth. It didn’t leave the ground.

She patted the seat, making room for him to sit, and sit he did. She leant into his side as the two lightly swung on the seat, and for a brief moment, nothing was wrong. He wasn’t being kicked out of his home, he wasn’t being disowned by practically his entire family. He wasn’t one of the True Stories of how bigot families take back all the love they said was unconditional, simply because he was not straight.

“I’ve been thinking.” Veronica said suddenly, looking down at the other end of the porch. “I’m going to look for a place of my own. Marco’s already in the process, for work, so I thought it might be time.”

“Bu-” Lance started, but it was like she hadn’t even heard him.

“I don’t think it’s safe for me to stay here, anyway.” She continued. “I’m going to give them an ultimatum too.”

“What?”

“An ultimatum.” She repeated. “If they want me to still be a part of the family, they have to get with the times, and… One: apologize to you, and two: recognize how they’ve all hurt both of us for years. If they won’t, then I will cut them out of my life.”

“V-!” Lance tried to protest, but his sister shook her head.

“No, this has gone on long enough. I should have done this earlier. This shouldn’t be happening. You shouldn’t be punished for having crushes on guys and girls. I shouldn’t be so far in the closet that I didn’t even think to protect my own brother from getting hurt by leaving it. If they don’t want us, we shouldn’t have to want _them._ I’m tired of picking between my family and myself.”

A minivan caught Lance’s eye, just as it turned onto the driveway, before he could speak. Veronica saw it too and stood up with a stretch.

“I… See ya.” She said over her shoulder to him, before she marched into the house without another word, shutting the door with barely a click.

Lance stared after her, before he snapped his head back at the minivan. Hunk sat in the passenger’s seat, his mom in the driver’s. He took a deep breath and walked down the steps, grabbing the suitcase handles and shuffled towards the car. He glanced back once, looking to the windows, but saw no one looking back out. It was like the final slice to his heart, and he turned back towards the car and hurried as fast as he could to put his stuff into the car and get in himself before he started sobbing again, this time without his sister to hold him.

**Author's Note:**

> This story is part of the [ LLF Comment Project](https://longlivefeedback.tumblr.com/llfcommentproject), which was created to improve communication between readers and authors. This author invites and appreciates feedback, including:  
> Feedback
> 
>   * Short comments
>   * Long comments
>   * Questions
>   * “<3” as extra kudos
>   * Reader-reader interaction
> 

> 
> This author replies to comments.


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